Vodafone’s message to staff via the great white telephone …

Reporter: John Garvey Chief Reporter

Vodafone bosses pasted these uncompromising messages on the ‘big white telephone’ in staff toilets to remind employees of their data protection obligations.

The ominous notices warn: “If you’re not careful with customer and employee information, your career could be going down here.”

Company spokeswoman Libby Pritchard insisted the ruse had gone down a storm with staff as a rib-tickling way of getting the message across.

However, not all employees were impressed.

One staff member, who asked not to be named, said: “This is just an example of how little Vodafone actually feels about us.

“This happened just a couple of months after they fired 90 employees.”

However, Ms Pritchard said: “The signage in the washroom was part of a light-hearted and eye-catching campaign to remind employees of how seriously we take our employee and customer data protection obligations.

“The stickers were a small element of a month-long, wider-reaching campaign.

“The stickers were put in a selection of bathrooms across our sites, as this was a sure way of reaching everyone.

“The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive with employees, who felt it was an innovative way to reach them.

“Combined with the other parts of the campaign, our employees now better understand their role in protecting customer and employee information.”